The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Gitmo Detainees and Our National Security

National security and public safety are the preeminent functions of government and our constitutional duty as representatives. While America has a proud history of providing refuge for those who have been persecuted for their beliefs or otherwise face imminent harm, we also have a duty to ensure the necessary background investigations can be done to stop terrorists from exploiting Americans’ generosity and ruthlessly taking more innocent lives. The President claims we are afraid of “widows and orphans.” With all due respect to him, I am only afraid of a foreign policy that creates more widows and orphans.

On Thursday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Border Security held a hearing to examine the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the security of the U.S. refugee admissions program. Watch my opening statement here:

Following the hearing, the House passed the American Security Against Foreign Enemies (SAFE) Act, H.R. 4038, with a veto proof majority. This is important because the President lobbied hard against this bill and has threatened to veto it. This legislation effectively suspends the admission of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until security and law enforcement officials can certify each refugee does not pose a threat to the United States.

Ultimately, the Syrian refugee crisis will only be solved if ISIS is destroyed. The President should start with a foreign policy in the Middle East, including Syria, that allows people to go back to their homelands. The President should defeat that “JV team” he said he had "contained." That would be the very best thing he could do to help people who aspire to a better life.

 

The South Carolina delegation, led by Senator Tim Scott, has been fighting President Obama’s misguided efforts to move Guantanamo Bay detainees to the United States. Additionally, both the House and Senate passed national defense legislation, which bars the transfer of detainees to U.S. soil, by bipartisan, veto-proof majorities.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week, Attorney General Loretta Lynch reaffirmed President Obama’s efforts to bring detainees into the U.S. would be illegal. She confirmed the law “currently does not allow” Guantanamo Bay detainee transfers to the U.S. President Obama should follow the law, and the counsel of his Attorney General, and abandon any plans to bring detainees to the U.S.